When Kat's Away [Sequel to Anna Doubles Down] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (19 page)

“I thought you said nothing was out there.”

“That’s right. There’s nothing out there except what we seek, and the evil that has taken her.” He grasped David by the shoulders. “We have to hurry if we’re to save her. There’s great danger that she faces, and we must not let her face it alone.”

David studied him for a moment and then smiled. “Then, let’s go.”

* * * *

Kat stared at Timothy and shook her head. “Are you on crack or something? Are you crazy? What the hell would I know about the future?” She’d watched him light a small fire near the mouth of the cave. Once he’d gotten it burning, he’d turned back to her and repeated his demand.

Timothy sat down on a rock and smiled. “Is that really the way you want to play this?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looked toward the cave’s narrow opening and wished for David and Win to find her.

“They’re not going to find you. There’s nobody around but a handful of wolves and a few coyotes.” He leaned down and put his elbows on his knees. “Let me tell you a little story, Kat.”

“Let me guess, some kind of fairy tale. Once upon a time—”

He laughed and ran his hands through his hair. “You know, I think I’d have liked you a lot if you hadn’t been friends with that bitch that ruined my father.”

Kat frowned. “Anna ruined your father?”

Timothy scowled. “Yes, she did, and you’re going to make up for it.”

“How the hell am I supposed to do that when I have no clue what’s going on in that melon of yours that’s absolutely nuttier than a fruitcake?”

He shook his head. “I only understand about every other thing you say. It’s very frustrating.” He glanced up at the ceiling. “Where was I? Oh yes, I was going to tell you a story.” He returned his gaze to Kat. “Twenty-eight years ago your friend Anna just showed up at the saloon. Beau and Zeke claimed she was their mail-ordered bride, but most folks thought that was hogwash. Hell, those two hadn’t even made the trip to Treasure City in almost a year, and they didn’t get very reliable mail service in these parts.”

“Where did people think she came from?”

“Most, including my pa, thought she was some whore they took a shine to and brought her home so they wouldn’t have to visit the girls Pa ran for the miners.”

Kat’s eyebrow rose. “Your father was a pimp?”

“A what?”

“A pimp. He provided prostitutes for the men around these parts.”

Timothy scratched his head. “Well, if pimp means he provided the soiled doves for Hamilton then, yeah, he was a pimp.” He picked up his canteen and took a drink. “Right away she and her men started snooping in Pa’s business. They even showed up one morning at the mill where he was manager.”

“How old were you?”

“I was seven and Pa had me working at the mill, running messages back and forth between the mine and the mill.”

“What happened then?”

“She walked in on Pa in the main office. She told him that she knew he’d been stealing and that he was gonna set a fire to cover everything up. Because of her, Pa had to run so he didn’t get caught. He was having trouble with one of his girls, and he’d given her a whipping and then left her in the office when he set the fire.”

Kat snorted. “Your pa sounds like a hell of a man.”

Timothy smiled, a dreamy look on his face. “He was, always bigger than life to me. I wanted to be just like him.”

“Looks like you got your wish. You seem to be just as abusive as you describe your old man.”

He jumped to his feet, raised his hand, and struck Kat across her face, knocking her over onto her side. “Never say anything bad about Pa. He was a good man, and a good father. He just wanted that bitch to tell him what she knew about the future. He was going to use whatever she said to make things better for his family.” He walked over and sat back down while Kat struggled to sit up.

She blinked rapidly to hold back her tears, her jaw stinging and the taste of blood on her lip. “What happened to him?” The longer she could keep him talking, the better the chance that David and Win would find her.

“No matter what Anna said, they couldn’t pin the fire on him, and they’d have to have somebody come down from the owners to go over the books, and that gave Pa a little time.”

“What about the woman he beat and left to die in the fire?”

Timothy shrugged. “He paid her off and put her on the stage. She was too scared to defy him. After she left, he became obsessed with finding out more about Anna and her tales of the future. He’d talk about nothing else to Ma at night when he bothered to come home. It was like she was taking Pa away from us.

“Then, he started following her, trying to find a way to get her alone. It took a few weeks, but she finally made a mistake. She had her men drop her off at Beau’s cabin out near the cemetery. I think she wanted to clean it or something. She was too uppity to live at the Silver Rush. Pa found her there and tried to ask her about the future, but the damn fool woman was too stubborn to talk.”

Kat swallowed, tasting the coppery flavor of blood. “What’d your pa do?”

“He knew he needed time alone with her to convince her, so he forced her to go with him. He took her out to one of the sheds the mill used for storing supplies. He left her tied up and came home. But, before he did she admitted to him that she’d come from the future. He told Ma and me that he had some mill business to attend to in Treasure City and would be gone for a few days.”

Timothy wiped his sleeve across his eyes. “I found out later he told the men at the mill that he had a family emergency that was going to keep him away a few days.” He sighed and took another drink from his canteen. “You want some more water?”

Kat shook her heard. “What happened next?” She hadn’t heard any of the details from Anna.

“After he left her in the shed, she was rescued by an Indian.”

“An Indian?”

“Yeah, an Indian. It was Win’s father, Running Bear. The story came out later that Anna had delivered Running Bear’s son at the cabin before Pa got there. She’d hid him and his family in the root cellar to protect them from Pa.”

“How did Running Bear find Anna?”

“He told Anna he listened when Pa came in and heard him take her. He took his squaw and babe back to his village and then tracked them to the shed. He got there while Pa was gone and set Anna free. When he got her back to town, Anna told the sheriff everything, and they had Running Bear to back up her story.”

Kat looked at Timothy and felt a pang of sympathy. It wasn’t his fault his father was so evil. “Timothy, what happened to your father?”

He looked up, his eyes cold and dead. “They hanged him. After Anna talked to the sheriff, the owners of the mill came down and went over the books. They found out about the missing money and ore. They combined that with Anna’s story of being kidnapped and assaulted, and this town was ripe for a hanging.” He stared at Kat. “Back then women were scarce in this part of the country, and the men came down pretty hard on anyone who hurt one they considered decent. I was all of seven when Pa swung from a rope, and I’ll never forget it.”

Kat gasped. “You saw him hang?”

Timothy looked at her, the surprise evident on his face. “Yes, of course. Ma and me both were brought in to watch. They thought it might influence me to not be more like him. Thankfully, they kept Alicia away. She was only two years old and they figured it would be too traumatic for her. They made us swear we’d never tell who done the hanging or they’d be after me next. The law didn’t have nothing to do with it, and after it was over, the law still didn’t care.” He glanced at Kat, a gleam in his eyes. “And, now that I have you I can finish what he started.”

“I can’t help you, Timothy.” She sighed. “Even if I was from the future, I couldn’t tell you things because it could cause problems you might not even realize.”

He frowned and leaned closer. “Like what?”

“Okay, well, um…” She groaned. “Damn it, you’ve got me so confused I can’t think. What if I told you a story about how time travel is possible, and you went to visit the ancestors of whoever made it possible to travel in the future.”

“You could do that?”

“Focus, Timothy, and let me finish my statement. You went to find their ancestors and you end up causing some kind of accident that gets them killed. What do you think would happen?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Nothing, I guess.”

“Wrong! Say I’ve come back in time to meet my great-grandmother when she’s just a young girl. While I’m at her house I accidently cause her to fall down the stairs and she dies.”

“I don’t understand.”

“If she dies as a young girl, she’ll never have children and my family line will stop there. I’ll just cease to exist.”

Timothy got up and threw his canteen across the cave. “Enough, I don’t want to hear any more of your theories. I just want you to tell me all about the future, and you can start with how you got here.”

* * * *

Win grabbed David by the arm. “Quiet,” he whispered. “There’s something up ahead.”

David leaned in close. “Is it them?”

“Not sure. Stay here and wait for me.”

He moved off quickly, before David could object. Stealthily, he crept through the brush until he spotted a horse tied to a tree. His fists clenched, the nails biting into his palms. Someone was severely abusing the poor animal. From the amount of grass eaten away around him, he’d been there some time, still saddled and the cinch pulled tight. The horse nickered softly when he saw Win and pulled steadily against the tied reins.

Silently, Win moved forward and unsaddled the gelding. He rubbed the animal softly over his nose, blowing gently into his nostrils. Keeping his voice low, he talked to the proud animal.

“I’m gonna set you free, and you can find as much grass as you want.” He smiled. “I suspect you’ll find your way home easily enough once I remove the bridle.”

Continuing to croon softly, he untied the reins and gently pulled the bridle away. The horse bumped his head into Win’s shoulder and nuzzled against his jaw before taking off in the darkness.

Chuckling softly, he bent and searched the saddlebags he’d removed but found nothing to tell him who owned the horse. Taking his time, he looked around but didn’t see anything, no buildings, no campfires, nothing. The night was proving to be a little chilly and he knew a white man would want his comfort. The trees were heavy to the west, and there were a series of small rock formations to the south. The area had always been good for hunting deer, but he also knew the woods were thick with wolves. Holding his head high, he inhaled deeply, catching the tiniest scent of smoke. He turned quickly to make his way back to David.

He found David hidden by the side of the trail, holding on to both horses. “Did you find anything?”

Win explained about finding the horse. “Let’s secure the horses here and go in on foot. I know I smelled smoke, but I couldn’t see anything.”

“If you didn’t see anything, where do you think they could be?”

“I’m thinking there’re probably small caves in those rocks. It’d be the perfect place to hide.”

David nodded, and moved the horses farther into the trees. “Then, let’s go look for some caves.”

* * * *

“Look, Timothy, even if I admit to being from the future, I have no idea how I got here.”

“You’re lying.” He stood up and unbuckled his belt and began pulling it slowly out of his belt loops. “You could have made this easy on yourself. It didn’t have to come to this.” He rolled the leather strap around his hand, leaving an eight-inch strip hanging down. “Now, I’m going to ask you again, but it’s the last time I’m going to ask nicely.” He took a step closer, hitting the strap against his palm.

Kat struggled to her feet, shivering in the night air. His small fire wasn’t putting out much heat. Her hands were still tied with a rope, but at least they were in front of her body and not behind her. She took a couple of steps back and came up against the damp wall of the cave.

“How did you and Anna travel here from the future?” He began walking steadily toward Kat.

She shook her head and bit back a sob. “I swear to you I don’t know. We were vacationing in Hamilton in our time and went to check out the old saloon. One minute we were knee-deep in cobwebs and then this glowy red thing sucked us in and dropped us in the basement at Silver Rush. That’s all I know, I swear.”

“So you’re telling me something in the Silver Rush’s basement is what brought you here.”

“I don’t know that for sure. I just know that’s where both of us ended up.”

Timothy cocked his head. “That actually explains a lot. I’ve often wondered why Anna and her men didn’t move away from this dead town years ago.” He smiled. “She wanted to be close to the Silver Rush to wait for you.”

“You’re wrong. She didn’t have any way of knowing I’d follow her.”

He nodded. “Then, she’s been staying close so she could go home when she got tired of being here.” He looked up and down Kat’s body and smiled, his eyes dark and cold. He raised his arm and dramatically slapped the belt against his own thigh, the pop echoing in the small cavern. “Now, Miss Evans, I want to know how to make this glowy red thing take me back to your time.”